JP7428877B2 - capper - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a capper that attaches a cap to the mouth of a container, and more specifically, it accurately determines whether a beret cap (a tilted attachment failure) has occurred when the cap has been attached to the mouth of the container. Concerning possible cappers.

Conventionally, cappers have been known that are equipped with a chuck that holds the cap and are attached to the mouth of the container by winding the cap held by the chuck around the mouth of the container. A capper that can detect the occurrence of a defect (so-called beret cap) has also been proposed (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).
In such conventional cappers, an inspection device for detecting beret caps is placed adjacent to and downstream of the capper, and containers with beret caps are detected by the inspection device placed downstream of the capper. It is now forcibly rejected.
In addition, in the case of a servo capper that uses a servo motor to control the rotation of the chuck, by monitoring the tightening torque when the cap is attached by the chuck, it is possible to check whether the tightening was performed normally and whether there is a beret cap. It is designed to judge. However, in this case, even if an abnormality is detected in the tightening torque, it is only a guess, so even with such a conventional capper, there is an inspection device that inspects the presence or absence of a beret cap on the adjacent downstream side. The presence or absence of a beret cap is detected using the sensor of the inspection device and image processing.

Patent No. 3417486 Patent No. 5565559

As mentioned above, in the conventional capper, it is necessary to install a dedicated inspection device to detect the beret cap adjacent to the capper on the downstream side, which increases the overall installation space and increases the manufacturing cost. There was a problem.

In view of the above-mentioned circumstances, the present invention provides a container holding means for holding a container, a capping head having a chuck for holding a cap, a rotating means for rotating the chuck, and a control device for controlling the operation of the rotating means. , comprising a lifting means for relatively raising and lowering the container holding means and the capping head, and lowering the capping head relative to the container held by the container holding means and lifting the cap held by the chuck. A capper configured to attach the cap held by the chuck to the mouth of the container by rotating in a tightening direction ,
An air passage formed in the center of the chuck, a conduit communicating with an air supply source, a rotary joint connecting the air passage and the conduit, and an air passage provided in the conduit and communicating with the conduit. A gap sensor measures the amount of gap between the top surface of the cap held by the chuck and the inner end surface of the chuck that faces it based on pressure fluctuations, and the cap is determined based on the amount of gap measured by the gap sensor. determination means for determining whether or not the is installed normally;
The determination means is configured to determine whether the cap is attached to the mouth of the container if the gap measured by the gap sensor is larger than a predetermined value when the capping head finishes attaching the cap to the mouth of the container. The present invention is characterized in that it is determined that the beret cap is attached at an angle.

With such a configuration, it is possible to accurately determine whether or not a beret cap has occurred at the time when the cap has been attached, so there is no need to provide an inspection device to detect a beret cap downstream of the capper. There is no. Therefore, the installation space for the capper and its peripheral devices can be reduced, and manufacturing costs can also be reduced.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a front view of the capping head provided on the capper of FIG. 1, FIG. 2(a) shows a case where the cap is normally attached, and FIG. 2(b) shows a case where a beret cap is attached due to a defective attachment. ing. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing time-series changes in the amount of gap measured by the gap sensor, the output torque of the servo motor, and the rotational speed when a cap is normally attached by the capping head shown in FIG. 2; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing time-series changes in the amount of gap measured by the gap sensor, the output torque of the servo motor, and the rotational speed when a cap is normally attached by the capping head shown in FIG. 2; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing time-series changes in the amount of gap measured by the gap sensor, the output torque of the servo motor, and the rotational speed when a cap is normally attached by the capping head shown in FIG. 2; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing time-series changes in the gap amount measured by the gap sensor, the output torque of the servo motor, and the rotational speed when a beret cap occurs when the cap is attached by the capping head shown in FIG. 2; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing time-series changes in the gap amount measured by the gap sensor, the output torque of the servo motor, and the rotational speed when a beret cap occurs when the cap is attached by the capping head shown in FIG. 2; The front view which shows the capping head as another Example of this invention.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to an illustrated embodiment. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a filling system equipped with a capper according to the present invention, and this filling system 1 is a rotating system having a plurality of filling valves 2A at equal pitches on the outer periphery. A rotary capper 4 having a plurality of capping heads 3 at equal pitches on the outer periphery thereof is provided.
While the filler 2 and the capper 4 are rotating in the direction of the arrow, empty containers 6 are sequentially supplied to the lower side of the filling valve 2A by the supply wheel 5 at the supply position A to the filler 2, and each container 6 is gripped by a gripper (not shown) included in the filler 2, and is filled with a predetermined amount of filling liquid by a filling valve 2A.
Each container 6 filled with the filling liquid is released from the gripper at the discharge position B, and is transferred from the filler 2 to the capper 4 via the intermediate wheel 7.

The capper 4 includes capping heads 3 that hold the caps 9 by chucks 8 at equally spaced positions on the outer periphery, and grippers 4A as container holding means for gripping the neck 6A of the container 6 on the lower side of each capping head 3. It is equipped with The container 6 transferred from the intermediate wheel 7 is conveyed with the neck 6A gripped from both sides by the gripper 4A and supported by the collar 6B of the neck 6A (see FIG. 2).
A threaded portion is formed on the outer periphery of the opening 6C of the container 6, and a threaded portion that is screwed into the threaded portion of the opening 6C of the container 6 is formed on the inner periphery of the cap 9. There is.
As the capper 4 is rotated in the direction of the arrow, the capping head 3 is raised and lowered by the lifting mechanism 11, and the chuck 8 is rotated in the tightening direction by the servo motor 12 provided in each capping head 3, so that the cap 9 is placed over the opening 6C of the container 6 and then rolled up (see FIG. 2(a)).
The container 6 to which the cap 9 is attached by the capping head 3 in this manner is released from the gripper 4A, is gripped by the discharge wheel 13, and is discharged from the capper 4 onto the discharge conveyor 14. Thereafter, the discharge conveyor 14 transports the paper to the downstream side.

Therefore, in this embodiment, by improving the capper 4 and its capping head 3 as described below, when the attachment of the cap 9 to the container 6 is completed, the beret cap shown in FIG. ) has occurred.
That is, the capping head 3 includes a cylindrical support member 16 that is movably provided on the outer circumference of the rotating body 15 of the capper 4, a rotating shaft 17 that is rotatably supported by the supporting member 16, and a rotating shaft 17 that is rotatably supported by the supporting member 16. A chuck 8 that is attached to the lower end of the shaft 17 and holds the cap 9 in a detachable manner, a servo motor 12 that has a drive shaft connected to the upper end of the rotating shaft 17, and the inside of the chuck 8 while holding the cap 9. It is provided with a gap sensor 18 that measures the amount of gap (distance) DX between the side end surface 8A (bottom surface) and the top surface 9B of the cap 9 facing thereto.
A cam follower 21 is attached to the inside of the upper part of the support member 16, and the cam follower 21 can freely roll in a cam groove 22A of an annular cam 22 disposed along the circumferential direction of the outer periphery of the rotating body 15. engaged. As a result, when the rotating body 15 is rotated in the direction of the arrow, the chuck 8 is moved up and down via the support member 16 at a predetermined position in the rotation section according to the height of the cam groove 22A. Thereby, the cap 9 held by the chuck 8 is raised and lowered, and is placed over the mouth 6C of the container 6 from above. The annular cam 22 and the cam follower 21 constitute an elevating mechanism 11 as elevating means for elevating the chuck 8.

The operation of the servo motor 12 is controlled by a control device 23, and the control device 23 is configured to move the chuck 8 down a required amount by the elevating mechanism 11 so that the cap 9 gripped by the chuck 8 is moved to the opening of the container 6. When placed over the upper end of the portion 6C, the servo motor 12 is driven to rotate at a predetermined command torque and a predetermined command rotation speed.
More specifically, as in the case of conventionally known cappers, first an engagement step is performed in which the lower end of the threaded portion of the cap 9 and the upper end of the threaded portion of the mouth portion 6C of the container 6 are engaged, and then a temporary tightening step is performed. Finally, the cap 9 is tightened around the mouth of the container 4 through a final tightening step. In these three steps, the servo motor 12 is rotated at a preset command torque and command rotation speed. It has become.
By rotating the servo motor 12 in this manner, the cap 9 held by the chuck 8 is tightened and attached to the opening 6C of the container 6 (Figs. 2(a) and 2). (see (b)).
By the way, as described above, the cap 9 is attached to the mouth part 6C of the container 6 by wrapping it tightly with the capping head 3, but when the cap 9 is normally attached to the mouth part 6C of the container 6 as shown in FIG. 2(a), In addition, a beret cap (improper attachment) may occur in which the cap 9 is attached to the mouth portion 6C at an angle (FIG. 2(b)).
Therefore, in this embodiment, the capping head 3 is provided with a gap sensor 18 as a measuring means, and when the attachment of the cap 9 to the mouth 6C of the container 6 is completed, the gap sensor 18 detects the Based on the gap amount DX between the end surface 8A and the top surface 9B of the cap 9, it is possible to accurately determine whether or not a beret cap has occurred.

The chuck 8 has a bottomed cylindrical shape with an opening facing downward and is configured to be able to grip the cap 9, and an end surface 8A (bottom surface) facing downward of the chuck 8 is a flat surface.
When the cap 9 is held by the chuck 8, the top surface 9B of the cap 9 comes into contact with the end surface 8A of the chuck 8, and the outer circumference (side surface) of the cap 9 is gripped by the cylindrical portion of the chuck 8. ing.
The lower end of the rotating shaft 17 is connected to the center of the upper end surface of the chuck 8, and an air passage 25 is formed from the center of the chuck 8 to the center of the rotating shaft 17 in the height direction. There is. A lower end 25A of this air passage 25 opens at the center of an inner end surface 8A (bottom surface) of the chuck 8.
The upper end 25B of the air passage 25 is connected to one end of an external conduit 27 via a rotary joint 26. An air supply source (not shown) is connected to the other end of the conduit 27, and air is blown out from the air supply source through the conduit 27, the rotary joint 26, and the air passage 25 from the lower end 25A as a blowout port. It looks like this.
A gap sensor 18 is attached in the middle of the conduit 27, and air supplied from an air supply source flows through the conduit 27 and the gap sensor 18.
The gap sensor 18 as a measuring means can measure the amount of gap DX between the end surface 8A of the chuck 8 and the top surface 9B of the cap 9 opposing thereto based on the fluctuation in the pressure of the air flowing in the conduit 27. It looks like this. The gap amount DX between the end surface 8A of the chuck 8 and the top surface 9B of the cap 9 measured by the gap sensor 18 is input to the control device 23. Note that the gap sensor 18 that measures the amount of gap (distance) between two members based on fluctuations in air pressure is already known.
On the other hand, the control device 23 is connected to an encoder 28 that is connected to the rotating part of the servo motor 12 and outputs a pulse signal, and an ammeter 29 that detects the current output from the servo motor 12. Pulse signals and current values are input.
The control device 23 is capable of recognizing the rotation angle and rotation speed of the servo motor 12 based on the pulse signal detected by the encoder 28, and drives the servo motor 12 to rotate based on the input data from the encoder 28. The fluctuations in the rotational speed of the servo motor 12 after the change in speed are recorded in time series. Further, the control device 23 detects the torque acting on the chuck 8 from the current value detected by the ammeter 29 after the servo motor 12 is rotationally driven, and records it in time series as an output torque. .
Furthermore, the control device 23 also records the time-series fluctuation in the amount of gap between the end surface 8A of the chuck 8 and the top surface 9B of the cap 9, which is measured by the gap sensor 18 after the servo motor 12 is driven to rotate. ing.
The control device 23 of the present embodiment includes a determination unit (determination means) 23A that determines whether or not a beret cap has occurred at the time when the attachment of the cap 9 to the container 6 is completed, and the determination unit 23A Based on the gap amount DX between the end surface 8A of the chuck 8 and the top surface 9B of the cap 9 at the time when the attachment of the cap 9 to the container 6 is completed, it is determined whether or not a beret cap has occurred. ing.

3 to 7 show specific time-series data of the three types mentioned above when the cap 9 is attached to the mouth 6C of the container 6 by the capping head 3. - When the three types of time series data shown in FIG. 7 are obtained, each determination is made as follows.
First, in FIG. 3, as shown in FIG. 3(b), in the engagement process immediately after the servo motor 12 is rotationally driven, the command torque is about half of the command torque in the subsequent main tightening process, and this The cap 6 is rotated in the tightening direction at the maximum rotational speed S1 compared to the subsequent temporary tightening step. Thereby, the tip of the threaded portion of the cap 9 held by the chuck 8 is reliably engaged with the tip of the threaded portion of the container 6 (FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b)). The output torque T1 in this meshing step is about half of the output torque T3 in the final tightening step.
After this, when the temporary tightening process is started, the servo motor 12 is rotated with a command torque less than half of the initial engagement process and at a rotation speed S2 that is slightly slower than the rotation speed S1, so that the threaded portion of the cap 9 is rotated. The container 6 is wound tightly around the threaded portion of the opening 6C. The output torque T2 in the temporary tightening process is less than half of the output torque T1 in the meshing process.
After that, when the required time elapses after the servo motor 12 is driven, the temporary tightening process shifts to the final tightening process. Servo motor 12 is rotated.
Then, the detected torque TX reaches the same torque as the command torque in the main tightening process, and accordingly, the rotational speed SX is suddenly decelerated to become substantially zero.
Here, the control device 23 recognizes that the attachment of the cap 9 to the mouth portion 6C of the container 6 has been completed when the output torque TX reaches the command torque T3 after moving to the main tightening step. .
When the control device 23 recognizes that the attachment of the cap 9 has been completed, the determination unit 23A stores in advance the gap amount DX between the inner end surface 8A of the chuck 8 and the top surface 9B of the cap 9 at the time of recognition. It is compared with a predetermined threshold value D1. Then, when the gap amount DX is smaller than the threshold value D1, the determination unit 23A determines that the cap 9 is normally attached to the mouth 6C of the container 6, and that no beret cap (defective attachment) has occurred. (Figure 3(a)).
In other words, unless a particular trouble occurs, the gap amount DX will be within the range of the threshold value D1 from the start of driving the servo motor 12 (start of winding tightening) to the end of the installation, as shown in FIG. 3(a). Yes, and the gap amount is approximately the same. As shown in FIG. 2(a), when the cap 6 is normally attached to the mouth 6C of the container 6 without a beret cap, the end surface 8A of the chuck 8 and the top surface 9B of the cap 9 are There is no large gap between them due to contact, and therefore, the gap amount DX at the time of completion of attachment does not exceed the threshold value D1.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, in the engagement process immediately after the start of tightening, the gap amount D2 between the end surface 8A of the chuck 8 and the top surface 9B of the cap 9 is the threshold value D1 in the engagement process or the temporary tightening process. may be temporarily exceeded. However, the control device 23 recognizes that the attachment of the cap 9 is completed when the output torque TX reaches the command torque T3, and at that point, the clearance amount DX is smaller than the pre-recorded threshold value D1, so these Even in this case, the determining unit 23A determines that the cap 6 is normally attached and that no beret cap is generated.
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, when the gap amount DX temporarily exceeds the threshold value D1 in the engagement process at the start of tightening or in the subsequent temporary tightening process, there is a case where the gap amount DX temporarily exceeds the threshold value D1. A case can be assumed in which the cap 9 is placed on the mouth portion 6C in an oblique state, and the subsequent rotation of the cap 9 via the chuck 8 brings the screw into a normal state and the installation of the cap 9 is completed.
Further, if the cap 9 is tightened around the opening 6C in an oblique state, a large load is applied to the threaded portion of the cap 9 and the threaded portion of the opening 6C, and there is a possibility that the threaded portion may be damaged. As in the examples shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, no beret cap is generated after the seaming is completed, but the cap 9 is seamed diagonally to the opening 6C during the seaming. If this is the case, it may be determined that there is a possibility that the cap 9 or the threaded portion of the opening 6C is damaged, and the product may be rejected downstream.

Next, in the case shown in FIG. 6, as shown in FIG. 6(b), in the engagement process immediately after the servo motor 12 is driven and the tightening is started, compared to the cases shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 described above. Then, the output torque TX reaches the command torque T3 after about half the elapsed time, and the control device 23 recognizes that the attachment of the cap 9 has been completed at that point.
At that point, the gap amount DX between the end surface 8A of the chuck 8 and the top surface 9B of the cap 9 is compared with the threshold value D1, and since the gap amount DX is larger than the threshold value D1, in this case, the determination unit 23A , it is determined that there is a beret cap in which the cap 9 is attached obliquely to the mouth portion 6C of the container 6 (defective attachment). FIG. 2(b) shows a case where a beret cap occurs due to an attachment failure.
Next, in the case shown in FIG. 7, similarly to the case shown in FIG. 6, the output torque TX changes to the command torque T3 in about half the elapsed time compared to the normal case shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 described above. has been reached. At that point, the determining section 23A compares the gap amount DX between the end surface 8A of the chuck 8 and the top surface 9B of the cap 9 with the threshold value D1, and since the gap amount DX is larger than the threshold value D1, in this case, the determining section 23A determines that there is a beret cap in which the cap 9 is attached obliquely to the mouth 6C of the container 6 (defective attachment).
In the case of Fig. 7, it is presumed that during the temporary tightening process after the engagement process, a problem occurred where the threads of the cap 9 and the opening 6C of the container 6 were caught together, and the tightening was completed in that state. can.

As described above, the control device 23 controls the cap 9 when the output torque TX of the servo motor 12 reaches the command torque T3 based on three types of time series data as shown in FIGS. 3 to 7. Recognizing that the attachment has been completed, the determination unit 23A determines that a beret cap has occurred if the gap amount DX between the end surface 8A of the chuck 8 and the top surface 9B of the cap 9 at that time is greater than or equal to the threshold value D1. That's what I do. On the other hand, if the gap amount DX is less than the threshold value D1, the determination unit 23A determines that no beret cap is formed and the cap 9 is normally attached to the mouth portion 6C of the container 6.
As described above, in this embodiment, it is possible to accurately determine whether a beret cap (attachment failure) has occurred at the time when the capping head 3 finishes attaching the cap 9 to the mouth 6C of the container 6. Can be done. Therefore, it is possible to omit a detection device for detecting a beret cap, which is conventionally required and is disposed downstream of the capper 4. Therefore, compared to the conventional system, the installation space of the filling system 1 as a whole can be reduced, and manufacturing costs can also be reduced.

Next, FIG. 8 shows a second embodiment of the capping head 3. The capping head 3 in the first embodiment described above uses the servo motor 12 as a drive source for the rotating shaft 17, but in this second embodiment, the gear 52 attached to the rotating shaft 17 is replaced by a large diameter gear. The rotating shaft 17 is rotated by moving the gear 52 along the outer periphery of the gear 51 while meshing with the gear 51. Although the servo motor 12 and rotary encoder 28 are omitted in this second embodiment, the other configurations are the same as the capping head 3 in the first embodiment described above. In this second embodiment, each member corresponding to that in the first embodiment is given the same number as in the first embodiment.
In this second embodiment, a capping section in which the capping head 3 descends by a lifting mechanism 11 (lifting means) to attach the cap 9 to the container 6 is set in advance, and the control device 23 controls the rotational position of the rotating body 15. The time when each capping head 3 reaches the end position of the capping section upon receiving the signal is recognized as the end of attachment of the cap 9, and at that time, the determination unit 23A determines the amount of gap measured by the gap sensor 18 and the predetermined threshold value. It is determined whether or not a beret cap has occurred by comparing the two.
Even with a capper equipped with the capping head 3 of the second embodiment, it is possible to obtain the same functions and effects as those of the first embodiment.

In the above embodiment, the control device 23 recognizes that the attachment of the cap 9 is completed when the output torque of the servo motor 12 reaches the command torque; When the rotational speed of the servo motor reaches almost zero, the time when the rotational speed reaches zero (for example, the time indicated by SX in Fig. 6(c)) is recognized as the completion of the installation of the cap 9, and at that point the beret is removed. The determination unit 23A may determine the presence or absence of the cap.
In addition, the servo motor 12 may not reach the command torque for some reason after the start of tightening, and in that case, the gap sensor It is also possible to determine whether a beret cap has occurred based on the amount of gap measured by 18.
Note that the installation of the cap 9 may be recognized not only when the output torque reaches the command torque or when the rotational speed becomes zero, but also when several seconds have passed after the output torque reaches the command torque. .
Further, in each of the above embodiments, the amount of gap between the top surface 9B of the cap 9 and the inner end surface 8A of the chuck 8 is measured by the air-type gap sensor 18, but measurement by a method other than the air-type is used. It is also possible to employ a device. For example, the distance between the top surface 9B of the cap 9 and the end surface 8A of the chuck 8 may be measured using a measuring device such as a laser type, a capacitance type, or a contact type measuring device.
Further, each of the above embodiments describes a case where the present invention is applied to a screw capper in which a cap 9 having a threaded portion formed on the inner circumferential surface is screwed to the opening 6C of the container 6, but the inner circumferential surface The present invention can also be applied to a capper in which a cap having no threaded portion is pressed from above onto a container having no threaded portion at the mouth.

3. Capping head 4. Capper 4A.. Gripper (container holding means) 6.. Container 6C.. Mouth part 8.. Chuck 8A.. Inner end surface of chuck 9.. Cap 9B.. Top surface of cap 11.. Elevating mechanism (elevating means) )
12. Servo motor (rotating means)
18. Gap sensor (measuring means)
23‥Control device 23A‥Judgment unit DX‥Gap amount

Claims (5)

A container holding means for holding a container, a capping head having a chuck for holding a cap, a rotating means for rotating the chuck, a control device for controlling the operation of the rotating means, and the container holding means and the capping head. the capping head is lowered relative to the container held by the container holding means and the cap held by the chuck is rotated in the tightening direction ; A capper configured to attach a cap held by a chuck to a mouth of a container,
An air passage formed in the center of the chuck, a conduit communicating with an air supply source, a rotary joint connecting the air passage and the conduit, and an air passage provided in the conduit and communicating with the conduit. A gap sensor measures the amount of gap between the top surface of the cap held by the chuck and the inner end surface of the chuck that faces it based on pressure fluctuations, and the cap is determined based on the amount of gap measured by the gap sensor. determination means for determining whether or not the is installed normally;
The determination means is configured to determine whether the cap is attached to the mouth of the container if the gap measured by the gap sensor is larger than a predetermined value when the capping head finishes attaching the cap to the mouth of the container. A capper characterized in that it is determined that a beret cap is attached at an angle. The capper according to claim 1 , wherein the determining means recognizes that attachment of the cap is completed when the output torque of the rotating means reaches a predetermined command torque when the rotating means is driven. . 2. The capper according to claim 1 , wherein the determining means recognizes that attachment of the cap is completed when the rotational speed of the rotating means becomes equal to or less than a preset rotational speed. 2. The capper according to claim 1 , wherein the determining means recognizes that attachment of the cap is completed when a preset time has elapsed since the rotating means was driven. The capper according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the rotating means is a servo motor.

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